How to save the environment (For lazy people)

Introduction

*Note: This is a small sample of writing I did on this topic. If you are not interested, feel free to skip ahead to the actual content.

You toss and turn, and your head is bursting with a million thoughts, and you can’t sleep. All of a sudden, in the darkness of your room, you jolt out of bed, covers and sheets are flung all over the floor. Hastily checking the clock, you dash over to the desk with more energy than you’d had the whole day. It’s 1:00 A.M… I need to go to sleep, you think absentmindedly, but the pen is already flying across the page in a maelstrom of words.

Inspiration and new motivation surges through you as ink flows across the page of the small notebook, and you have a strange urge to do it all. To write a novel, read a book, start a business, save the world; you want to save the Earth and the environment! You want, plain and simply, to make a difference.

A  mess of thoughts is scrambled about on the page, and soon later exhaustion sweeps in, swift as the moon taking over the night sky. Just like that the moment is over, and you turn off the lamp, scribbling a note, “Remember to SAVE THE WORLD! Don’t forget!”

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“EE! EEE! EE!” You open up your eyes in the morning, groggily turning off your alarm and trudging out of bed, rubbing your eyes with a groan of protest. And on the door, you see the note, a jumbled mess of scribbles and words only you could understand. 

Knitting your eyebrows, you squint at the letters, just barely deciphering the mixed words on the crumpled pink post-it. A blurry memory arises from the night before, an indistinct haze of a gel pen on yellowed paper and tossing and turning under the covers. Oh… well, I’ll just do it later… I guess…

Shrugging slowly, you glare at it, trying to remember why it felt so urgent last night. Why couldn’t it wait for later?

“Eh, I’m too lazy for this; it wouldn’t help the Earth anyway,” you mutter, tossing the note into the trash can. Some small part of you screams to stop, but you are tired and the majority drowns out the little voice, like a grain of sand washed away in the rushing stream. Going to the closet, you put on your Eeyore onesie before tromping down the stairs to the couch. So much for saving the world…

If you are anything like me, this has probably happened to you (maybe not the part about the Eeyore onesie). You want to help the Earth, of course, but let’s face it. You’re lazy, or just don’t have the time for a major project. No shame, but if you are reading this, it’s for a reason (you did read the title, right?).

So how can you SAVE THE WORLD, one small step at a time if you are just too lazy?

That’s where I can help. If you find any of these helpful, you may want to check out my other “Coming soon” articles such as: How to Survive Middle School, 10 Tips for a Healthier You, and Are You depressed, or Just Hormonal?

Without further delay, let’s get started.

Pick up 5 pieces of trash. 5. That’s all you need.

DON’T LEAVE! That’s what they all say, just pick up trash and the world is better. Yeah right, you might think, but those people are probably right. If you live in a big city, stepping outside your apartment or home and picking up 5 pieces of trash takes little to no effort… maybe as much as a walk to the fridge or to the car.

However, if  you live out in the country, or just a relatively clean neighborhood, this may be a little trickier. But you most likely could find a lot of litter in places like the sides of roads, or, if you are more adventurous, ditches. If you cannot find any litter in your immediate area, try to recycle or reuse 5 or more items.

Though five pieces may seem like an insignificant number, think about it. If I were to pick up five pieces of trash a day for a month, I would have picked up 150 pieces of trash! So let’s say now you like picking up litter a little bit, or you just need something to do, and you pick up 10 a day for a month. That’s 300! Now imagine what would happen if you picked up five a day for a whole year. You would’ve collected and disposed of 1800 pieces of trash. Wow! You are on your way to helping the Earth, whether you choose to do 5 a day or 10.

Not to mention you can make money by turning in cans you may find at local stores like Meijer and Walmart, and extra income is never a bad thing (I would buy pizza… comment below what you would use extra money for)!

No worries, you can get back in your Eeyore costume now.

Cut down the shower time

For every one minute you spend in the shower, you use 2.1 gallons of water says, https://www.home-water-works.org/indoor-use/showers. 2.1 gallons! Per minute! Personally, I am guilty myself of taking fifteen to thirty minute showers (admit it, you probably have too). The average American takes 8 minutes and uses 17 gallons of water (Showers)! Imagine 17 gallon jugs full of water, in just eight minutes.

So how can you cut down on shower time and water usage? My favorite method that I have tried is timing yourself. Even being as lazy and overall sluggish as I may be, the pressure of a timer immediately speeds up my showers, even when I try to go at a normal pace, my brain seems as though it is in a competition against the clock.

Also, you can try collecting the cold water in a bucket while you wait for it to warm up, and use it to water plants or for other uses (Showers).

As you time yourself, try to beat your personal record each day, like a sort of competition against yourself. Also, you can have a competition with your family or roommates to see who can get a better time (I’m not liable for any fights), all reducing the amount of fresh water you use daily.

Just make sure not to sacrifice your own personal cleanliness while trying to save water; saving the environment will not take you very far if you don’t keep up your own hygiene needs.

To my own surprise, I never missed the extra shower time and actually thoroughly enjoyed the extra time I got in my night time routine. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to help cut down on fresh water usage, while also saving time and money on the water bill (you’re welcome)!

Using your phone to help the world

Some people believe that phones can do no good, and just inhibit laziness. Well, they do increase laziness. But they aren’t all bad!

It turns out, you can use your phone to advantage the environment. A perfect example of this is the popular productivity app “Forest.” The basic premise is that you set a timer, and during this time, you cannot use your phone or mobile device. While the clock ticks away, a miniature digital tree grows.

But it can have incredible real world impacts. As you grow more and more digital trees, you accumulate coins. You can use those coins to plant an actual tree, in real life.

So consider using Forest or an app like it to help the Earth. While you’re taking a nap, watching TV, or doing something that doesn’t require your phone, simply set a timer in the app and watch the coins stack up.

If that’s not lazy, I don’t know what is!

Conclusion

As you can see, even lazy people or those of us who just don’t have the time for a time-consuming project can make a positive impact on the environment, improving life for all of us.